Walking Through Shadows
by january sunshine
Summary: He walked through the darkness, the Shadows, trying to find hiself, and instead found some unexpected company... Blindfold!Riku x Anti!Sora.


No real notice. I was at a friend's house when this idea just... appeared, shall we say? Well... it came out weird on the notebook, so I let sleep deprivation (it is almost 2 am by now) take over and, well, voila! Enjoy.

The pairing came from a picture I found on google which I heard was from someone _deviantArt_. I dunno. Thank you, anonymous inspiration!

**Walking Through Shadows**  
**by Darkness Princess**

_Shadows._

That was all it seemed to be. Just shadows... shadows of people: their old wishes, dreams, moments of happiness, joy, sorrow... mere shadows. They brushed past him continually, and he continued to walk. He couldn't see much at all--the faintest of glimmers here or there, the tops of shapes and designs of figures, glowing eyes staring at him, watching him.

Always, bright, yellow-green orbs. They watched as he continued to stray, and he stared emptily.

No reason to stare. They led him nowhere. This was his path to self realization, and he couldn't see what lie ahead.

He tugged the blindfold over his eyes again. Their eyes bothered him; the glowing orbs of these tiny, inhuman creatures made him uneasy. They watched him, waited, sometimes even clawed at him.

It was just odd. Too much to not worry about. He chose to ignore their scuttering feet, their soft whimpers and their soft squeaks as they shifted around him. The little Shadows... that's all that seemed to inhabit this area, and as long as he didn't bring out any abnormal sources of light, they weren't bothered.

Something shifted quickly, and he paused.

Unnatural. He tilted his head around, eyes staring emptily at the black abyss around him. He could hear the shifting, feel the air moving around, taste the fear of the new force around him. It shifted nervously, and the Shadow screeched in anger, moving around to fight it. It jumped back and proceeded to anger more.

A soft moan came from the new figure, and he could hear claws against flesh, ripping into the Shadow around it. It tore into one, and he could hear the small heartless's screech of pain as it bled into more darkness. The smell began to approach his nostrils, and he could hear more thrashing around him.

Something was definitely going on.

A new heartless, maybe? He doubted one could kill another so easily, and yet it seemed so panicked. It was jumping around, claws moving, shifting on fours then twos--he could hear it, smell it, even feel its movements against the empty wind--and it soon lashed out. At him.

He jumped back to avoid claws and frowned. "Hey... don't attack me," he spoke to it softly, a caring tone slipping from him. "I won't hurt you..."

It groaned softly and shifted on the ground, then slid below. He lost the feel, but soon it reappeared, standing right in front of him. A dark, plain odor reached his nostrils, and he found himself cautious of the movements, even though he couldn't see them.

A hand shifted, ready to strike, and it didn't. Riku paused for a second as he thought.

_He could feel nothing in this darkness, except for the presence of one person. Gentle, unruly spikes; the colors red, yellow, and... blue as his bright, sweet orbs; he stood in front of him and a confused look formed on his face. Eyes seemed lost, expression unsure and almost scared..._

"It's okay..." he whispered. "Sora, it's okay..."

The shadow shifted in front of him, hands clawing at him gently. They didn't rip through the clothing, just pawed at the fabric as he stared. He made a soft growling noise, something like an "R" but it was muffled and unhuman. It seemed like it wanted to cry, and Riku stretched two gentle hands out, engulfing the small, shadowed figure in his calm embrace.

He stood quietly for a moment, then slowly sunk to the ground.

_Sora frowned at him. He took a step back, shaking his head. Riku nodded, and Sora paused, then shook his head again and jumped back. He was silent, his rosy lips gently wording one word: No..._

"Yes... I'm here," Riku said softly. He kept his arms out, welcoming another hug, waiting for comfort only at the wish of his friend. "I'm here... next to you, I'm right here..."

_Here...? His eyes twinkled slightly, and he furrowed his brows in realization: Riku...?_

The boy's shadowed self shifted in the ground underneath his feet and soon reformed, sliding under the ground beneath the protection of Riku's coat. Riku gasped as he found Sora materializing between his legs and subconsciously stepped back, trying to stop the smaller one. Sora stumbled forward, and a few more Shadow screeched at him. His tiny frame reached to grab hold of Riku's coat, to keep him near.

Riku gently dropped to squat next to him, trying to force the incident out of his mind. Though he could feel the need for protection in the smaller one, he doubted standing underneath his crotch would do much. "Sora... I'm here..."

The small Heartless grabbed hold of him, arms thrown around his neck as the small one nuzzled his cheek, hands clawing at his back. Riku tried not to wince as a claw ripped through the fabric and touched his skin, but he managed to make some sort of grimace of pain that almost scared the small one in front of him. "It's okay..." he whispered again. The shadowed one clung to him tighter, claws gripping the fabric, and Riku wrapped his arms once again around the small one.

"You're..." he whispered softly. "You're... a heartless, Sora..."

The small boy murmured something, which came out as a set of shrilled squeaks and strained groans, and he moved his hands, flailing against Riku's grip. He was trying to speak, and Riku tried to listen.

Within thirty seconds, he realized that the boy's flailing would only cut him and he couldn't see blindfolded. He sighed and shook his head and the small one merely clung to him once again.

Something growled loudly behind him and his eyes narrowed. He knew they needed to move, the air shifted coldly and he knew something was coming. Tightening his grip, he lifted the boy off his feet and began to walk, feeling the small creature's legs wrapping around his waist, keeping him close. A gentle head fell onto his shoulder, hair brushing against a pale cheek.

"You're Sora..." he whispered as he began to walk.

The small Heartless's head nodded, hair shifting on his cheek.

"And you're a heartless."

He moved quickly and shook his head, and Riku had to blink.

"You're not a heartless?"

No.

"But you were?"

Yes.

That made sense. Riku 'hmm'ed and continued to carry his friend's form as they walked around. Once a heartless, but now not... he couldn't remember that happening before. That meant Sora had accomplished bringing himself back from this world--when had he become one of these creatures before?--and now retained its shape.

"Are you like this always?"

A no. It nuzzled his neck and purred softly.

"And you'll go back, won't you?" When nothing answered, he clarified. "To your original self... your human body... without the claws."

Nod nod.

"To the world in light?" he asked.

He didn't answer.

Riku sighed and continued to walk. "Is there a name for you?"

A nod, followed by a shift, and a possible shake of the head. Riku paused briefly, but quickly continued. "You're... some sort of anti-form?" he guessed. It seemed to fit--against Sora's cocky, human, strong and emotional being, and this inhuman, lightweight remainder... yet he could still feel his Sora beneath the shaded demeanor.

He was staring through the blindfold. Riku could almost see a pair of glowing yellow eyes, but all he could see were gentle blue orbs staring with a mischievious tint.

_"Riku..."_

He smiled and Riku shifted to place his cheek against his friend's, whispering softly into his ear, "I've always got you." He soon gave him a gentle kiss, smiling at the soft texture of Sora's lips, despite the shifting shadows of the form tickling his cheeks.

He continued to walk. "Where do you think we should go?"

The Anti-Sora didn't reply, but instead, nuzzled him and let his head droop onto his shoulder. Riku had to smile.

"Don't care, huh?" he asked softly.

A paw gently ran across his back, across the small wound, healing it.

_"Always got you, too..."_

Riku smiled and continued to walk through the darkness. The shadows screeched at his companion, and he ignored them. His companion gently clung to him and soon began to drift off, and he smiled. "Anywhere, so long as I've got you."

**.owari.**

Okay, thar. I liked it. Most of my friends think that Blindfold-Riku and Anti-Sora make a cute pairing. I completely see it.

**:Darkness Princess.**


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